Over Now
by Hildebrant
Summary: For some people the path to Graduation day, is sometimes paved with the happy memories and of the friends they left behind, but for some, its only a chance to reflect on the pain that got them this far, and the hope that a better beginning will be there
1. Chapter 1

**Over Now**

**Well, after a lengthy abscence and with much getting in the way, I've returned to the Mai Hime fanfic world, though the content in this fic may not be to anyone's liking, I felt like I had to get this idea down on paper before I was driven crazy by it. I do not own Mai Hime, it is owned by Sunrise animation and distributed to the states by Bandai.**

_No more holding it in_

_How many years can I pretend_

_Nothing never goes the way it should_

_No more sitting in this place_

_Hoping you might see it my way_

_Cause I don't think you ever understood_

_That what I'm looking for are the answers_

_To why these questions never go away_

_Crossfade - So Far Away_

The flames of the bonfire danced before in many directions, illuminating the dark night. Before the fire stood one lone figure, wearing a pair of blue jeans, and a green dress shirt over a yellow t-shirt. He wore no particular expression on his face, nothing but a blank stare, one that only paid attention to the flames and nothing more. Breaking this seemingly endless ritual and taking a glance at his watch, he spoke to no one in particular. "Well, might as well get started" reaching over to his side, he picked up a small cardboard box and pulled apart the tabs. Within the box were multiple vests and jackets. All of which bore the colors and crests of Fuuka academy. To anyone who had ascended the small hillside that the bonfire was lit upon, they would see that the young man in question was none other than Yuuichi Tate. A young man who had grown tired and fed up with the way other people had treated him on this island, and it was now time for him to bid it good bye, and watch all he had relating to it go up in flames. Grabbing a vest from the box, Tate tossed it into the bonfire, and watched as it began to burn up into nothing. Another jacket followed and another and a vest shortly afterwards. This continued until Tate had run out of uniform tops to feed into the flames.

Reaching back into the box, Tate picked up a small envelope and pulled it open, revealing a set of photos. Several of the photos were of him with members of the kendo club, along with him getting a pat on the back from its former captain, Masashi Takeda. Tate immediately thought back to when Takeda had graduated a year back, and the speech he had given the club. It was not exactly a warm and heartfelt experience.

~*~

_flashback _

_The students, both male and female gathered around the center of the kendo club training hall, awaiting the arrival of the club captain Masashi Takeda. They had finished off their final training session for that semester. To anyone who had noticed, Masashi Takeda had worn a sort of somber expression on his face. Whenever one of the girls had tripped or anytime during the day when a female classmate had found herself in a humiliating situation, Takeda hadn't batted an eyelash, much less a geizeresque' nosebleed as he had in days past. Other things to note of were his behavior around his former crush Natsuki Kuga, or rather lack of behavior completely. He hadn't stuttered nor had he blushed or gotten flustered when she was around, instead Takeda simply walked past her, and kept silent. He had been doing that alot as of late. Just staying quiet, keeping to himself. Tonight however he was expected to break the silence to give a speech to his fellow club members. It would be a speech none of them would forget. _

_Tate knew that Masashi was set to graduate in a few days, and had decided to say his goodbyes then and there while he still had a chance since Takeda would be spending time getting fitted for his cap and gown and learning his location for when they would be handed their diplomas. Then he would be gone. He'd be free from this place forever, such a wonderful thing to be gone from this damn place. Mai had chosen to be with Mikoto and had told him that while she had appreciated his help and was flattered by how much he had loved her, she just couldn't bring herself to feel the same. That was the end of it. Over before it even had a chance to exist. The door to the training hall slid open, and the captain had entered, his silence still not broken. _

_Tate watched as everyone turned their heads in Masashi's direction. Many rose and bowed to him, the proper way to show respect for their captain, especially since he'd be leaving soon. As they took their seats, many took notice of the look of extreme bitterness on Takeda's face. He showed no signs of happiness or relief, only a look that said he'd much rather be anywhere other than here. Taking a short stride into the room, Takeda looked around and after coming to a stop, spoke._

_"Wow, what a turn out, of course you're all probably just doing all of this because you have to, or just going through the motions and not because you want to, and that's the thing I've come to expect from this this island and the people on it. Everyone is a fake, no one cares about you, no matter what you do for them, they don't care. They just look at you, give you a dirty look and walk off. So you know what? I'm gonna do the complete opposite and just say what I really feel about you all instead of hiding behind a lie. You bunch of motherfucking kiss-asses! You slackers! You dipshits! You think I don't know what people say about me, or the Kendo Club? Oh I know alright, I know how so many of you talk about me behind my back, about how you look at me in disgust about how I had a crush on one of my fellow classmates. Well guess what assholes? You can relax. She told me flat out that she doesn't like me, and likes someone else. _

_So while I'd like it if you guys would stop talking about me behind my back, or how you hate to see me fawn and obsess over that girl, its not gonna happen. You're all just gonna keep talking about me and trashing me no matter what. Well you know what? Fuck You All!! Take this island! Take this Club, Take all the things you said about me, and Shove it!!" He was finished speaking after that. Takeda then took his vest and shinai and threw them against the nearest wall, unaffected by the loud clatter they made upon impact. Takeda threw open the sliding doors, but stopped for one brief minute to look upon the wall for the wooden placard bearing his name. He saw one of the students going for it. "Don't touch it" He ordered. The deep chill in his voice was enough to stop the student in his tracks._

_Walking back over to the very placard the student was reaching for, Takeda grabbed it roughly himself and then walked towards the sliding doors and walked off into the night, the placard still gripped tightly in his hand. A few days later, a bonfire was seen in the woodland area. Some students claimed they saw Takeda sitting at the fire, but some dismissed it or paid it no attention due to lack of interest, or out of personal disgust for the angry young man. _

_end flashback_

~*~

No one said anything to Takeda following that. He didn't say anything to anyone else either. Tate never saw a smile on his face or any other expression until the day he graduated and was handed his diploma. Upon being handed it and tossing his cap into the air, all that was on his face was an expression of relief. For him, his nightmare and torment, was over. Soon, very soon Yuuichi's own personal hell would come to an end, and Fuuka island would be a memory. No more fighting, no more memories of his own death, no more Mai Tokiha, no more Reito Kanzaki, and no more Fuuka Island. It would all be gone in a matter of days. No more years standing between him, just a couple days. He'd be handed his diploma, and the next day he'd board a ferry and return to the mainlands, away from everyone and everything that was responsible for ruining his life. The fire was dying down now and Tate gave it one last shot at life by feeding it a dry stick and the photos contained within the envelope. He watched as it all caught fire and burnt up, all of his memories of this place, were now going up in smoke. After dousing the fire, Tate made his way back up to the main road and back to his dorm.

Tomorrow he would be given his place and location for the graduation ceremony. If he could just keep his head and keep it together for one more day, then just hold up in his room until the day after graduation, he'd make it out of this with at least half of his soul intact.

"I'm almost done, I'm almost free. I'm so close to getting out of here I can practically taste it" Tate muttered to himself. Finally making his way to the boy's dorm, Tate opened it up and made his way over to the kitchen and began to prepare a simple cup noodle meal for dinner. A bigger one would be waiting for him when he arrived back home in Tokyo. His parents were looking forward to his graduation ceremony but due to a busy work schedule, they wouldn't be able to attend. That was fine by him, this place wasn't worth setting foot on anyways. For him it was no man's land, in more ways than one. Turning on the Coffee maker, Tate set about following the instructions for making the simple Ramen meal when a sudden knock at the door interrupted him from his train of thoughts. "I'm not expecting any company, I don't have anything left to do or say to the Student Council, and Shiho's glued herself to the shrine in an attempt to atone for her actions during the festival, and Takeda had been gone for a year and had been pretty adamant about never coming back again. So whom could it be?

The knocking continued and it didn't sound like it would end anytime soon. Checking on his noodles one last time, Tate walked over to the door and opened it. Standing there was one of the last people he wanted to see, ever. It was Mai Tokiha. "To what do I owe the honor?" Tate asked as he folded his arms across his chest, hoping that whatever the red head had to say to him would be brief.

"I just wanted to come by and, see how you were doing, in a couple days we may never see one another for a long time, possibly even never again" Mai said. Her voice held a hint of sorrow to it, but Tate paid it no mind. "I'm doing fine, and once I get my diploma and head back home I'll be doing even better" Tate said back. Noticing the smell emanating from his coffee-maker, Mai spoke up. "I noticed you're making ramen in the coffee maker, if you like I could come in and make you dinner" Mai said. "I think I'm more than capable of cooking my last meal Mai" Tate said, the tone of his voice sounding firm and unyielding.

"Well I didn't mean that, its just that I thought you'd like a home cooked meal, you must know how good I am at cooking from what Mikoto says..." Mai stopped right there with what she was about to say when she saw Tate's eye's meet hers when the young catgirl's name come up. Tate hadn't said anything out loud about her relationship with Mikoto and choosing her over him, but she knew that it hurt for him to have just willingly stepped aside like that. Which was why she had come that day in an attempt to smooth over any hard feelings that may or may not be there. However it looked like it wouldn't be happening anytime soon. Unfolding his arms from his chest, Tate turned to look Mai straight in the eye and spoke: "Mai, just go away, go home to Mikoto. I've got enough things on my mind as it is, so please just leave me in as much peace as I can get from this place anymore" Tate said, not really begging but making it clear that the conversation had ended.

"I, I see" Mai spoke, hurt by what he had said, but it was understandable. She knew that he had loved her, and had stepped aside so that Mai could be happy with Mikoto, but by no means was he happy about it. He was alone on this island, Shiho had been keeping a low profile and mostly stayed at the shrine in an attempt to put the past behind her and atone, the student council hadn't had much work for Tate, mainly due to it being the end of the year and his lack of enthusiasm in the past year and a half. To say that his staying here would only rub more and more salt to the wound would be the understatement of the century.

Silence reigned in the place between the two teens, neither made a move for a whole minute, until Mai moved forward to put her arms around Tate, when he stopped her by grabbing both of her arms, and spoke. "Mai...don't" The two simple words that came from his mouth in a simple whisper, had an impact on her that could have moved mountains. She had only wanted to make him happy, she was a woman who valued her friends and family more than anything, and despite how much his outlook had changed in the past year or so, Yuuichi was still a friend. "There's no point in putting a band-aid on something that's been bled dry Mai" Yuuichi said as he let go of her arms. Said arms fell back to the girl's sides and her head drooped down low. Looking up, Mai looked him in the face and instead of seeing his usual face of irritatance or the look on his face that he wore when he had no idea what was going on, Tate only wore an expression that seemed like it was pleading for her to go. There was no longer any chemistry between the two of them, and doing something like a hug or an embrace would only serve as a means to give out false hope, and Mai wasn't that cruel.

"Goodbye, Yuuichi" Mai said, her voice cracking somewhat. There would be tears streaming down her face later and Mikoto would try to make her feel better, even threaten Yuuichi, and Mai would stop her, and explain that when people fall in love, sometimes others are the ones that get hurt. Yuuichi had gotten hurt enough in her opinion.

She turned to leave, going back to her apartment and to Mikoto. Tate watched as she left and walked off, for what would be the last time. Closing the door, Yuuichi went back to his cup noodles and sat down to eat one of the last meals he would have here in this apartment.

~*~

Graduation day had come and Tate was standing in line to receive his diploma. Several other students were already receiving their own, Eager to finally be among the greats who were no longer shackled down to the prison that was high school. Tate however just wanted to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. The whole ceremony was just him going through the motions, just as the Kendo club did that one night, probably according to Takeda. But that was where the accusations stopped and the truth began, because Tate surely was going through the motions. His walk was almost like that of a corpse, empty, devoid of emotion and interest. He planned to get his diploma, then once it was okay to disperse, he'd return to his apartment and ready any remaining parcels that needed packing up for the long ride home tomorrow.

Mai watched as Tate stood in line, not making small talk with anyone or counting down the minutes until the diploma would be his. He was just standing there. She wanted to reach out and talk to him one last time, but it appeared as though that was not to be. It was doubtful that his opinion had changed in the hours that had long since past. All that lay between them were at least five other students, in keeping in check with the alphabetical order of the seating arrangements. Those five students might as well have been a mile to her.

Tate was handed his diploma and shook the hand of Fumi, the acting Administrator to the academy, She had taken over the reigns with the disappearance of the previous chairperson Mashiro. Her vanishing act had caused a few people to ask questions, but Tate wasn't one of them. Moving forward to keep the line moving so that the other students could also receive their diplomas, Tate joined the remaining group at the bottom of the stairs, every last one of them eager to partake in the final part of the ceremony where they would toss their caps up into the air and catch it, signifying that they were now graduates. In a small sort of way, so was Yuuichi, if only so it meant that he too was one of them, and that he was one step closer to true freedom.

The diplomas had finally been handed out and the caps had been tossed, Cheers, handshakes, and thanks were being given along with pats on the back to all of the students. Yuuichi however, was desperate for some air and had retreated to one of the overlooks that presented the viewer with a sight of the ocean, colored a bright orange due to the sinking sun. The ocean, would soon be his path to freedom, on the meager ferry that had probably shepparded numerous students to and from Fuuka academy over the years. He couldn't wait, and tomorrow couldn't get here quickly enough.

A set of footsteps alerted Yuuichi to the arrival of another person. Hoping it wouldn't be Mai, Tate turned around, ready to tell her to leave him alone, but instead he was met by the face of one Reito Kanzaki, the former student council Vice President.

"Reito, what're you doing here?" Tate asked, surprised at the former Vice president's arrival on the island he too once inhabited. The look on his handsome face however was more tired than anything. Yuuichi would have been right in guessing that his exhaustion was due to his own grievances of Mai not choosing him either, as well as the weight of maintaining a front of the usual, handsome and charming student council vice president, and the one who was set to negotiate and organize all of the events that the academy. It was a weight that was finally be lifted off of his shoulders a year ago.

I'm just here overseeing a few things, my duties as a former vice president are neverending I suppose" Reito answered. "Nice view, don't you think?" Reito asked. "Best view I've seen in a long time" Tate said, agreeing with his former superior from his days in the student council in regards to the ocean. "I take it that you're going to be leaving us tomorrow?" Reito asked. "Yep, I'll be leaving on the 12 o'clock Ferry back to Tokyo" Tate replied. "I'll be leaving as well on a later boat. I'd leave on the same one as you but I still have some final notes to leave with Mikoto" Reito replied. "I thought you lived on this island?" Tate asked. "I live in Shinjuku, but to be honest I'm thinking of spending the summer in one of my family's homes in Okinawa. What about you?" Reito asked, answering Tate's question and giving one of his own. "I'm going back home to Tokyo. I'm going to stay with my parents for a few weeks and try to get a summer job and see if any colleges have accepted my transcripts" Tate replied. "Sounds like a plan" Reito said in response.

The silence hung thick between the two men as they watched the sun continue to sink into the ocean, causing the once bright orange ocean to turn to an almost violet color due to the arrival of nightfall. yuuichi was the first to break that thick silence. "Though to be honest, I thought there'd be a happier ending to my story out here" he said. Reito smirked at this, half heartedly. "Sometimes, there are no happy endings Yuuichi" He replied back, reminding himself as well as Yuuichi to the painful truth. "Still, despite it all, let's at least part, as friends" Reito said as he extended his hand to Yuuichi. Yuuichi was slow to extend his hand to Reito. He hadn't forgotten what had happened during the carnival and his duel with Reito. Still, the worst Reito could do was punch him out and spit on him, after that the both of them would probably never see one another again. Taking a leap of faith, Yuuichi extended his hand and grasped Reito's in it. Once the handshaking had ended, Reito spoke. "Goodbye Yuuichi, may the path that you walk away from this island, be the one that grants you happiness" Reito said in all honesty to his friend. "Same to you Reito, same to you" Yuuichi replied, removing his hand from Reito's. The two walked in opposite directions, to destinations that only they knew, never looking back at one another, not even once.

~*~

Yuuichi returned to his apartment, still clad in his cap and gown. Setting down his cap onto his bed, he then set about carefully removing his gown and then proceeded to fold it up and put it into the plastic wrapping it came in and loading it back into his suitcase. Now only a short matter of hours lay between he and his freedom. He should get dinner started, but it would mean starting up the oven or the microwave, or calling take out, but he wasn't interested or hungry. Yuuichi instead settled for sitting down in a recliner, and relaxing as best he could, and hoping that sleep would come quickly. The alarm was set for eleven a.m. tomorrow, and it was likely he'd be awake by then. Sleep, was the only thing on his to do list at the moment, as he began to rest his eyes.

A knock at the door startles Yuuichi from his slumber. Looking back, he saw the clock read at least ten o'clock. Meaning at least three hours had gone by. The knocking continued and didn't seem to have an end to it. Deciding to see who it was and to hopefully find some way to get rid of them before it got out of hand, Tate arose from his chair and went to the door. Undoing the lock and opening the door, Tate saw that it was Natsuki Kuga, the aloof loner and biker student of Fuuka, and former Hime. Tate had no real problem with her, but she was a good friend of Mai's so it wouldn't pay off well to be angry with her or to say bad things about the red headed Hime despite how Tate may have honestly felt about her going to Mikoto. Silence hung between the two of them for a time, until Natsuki chose to break it.

"So I hear you're leaving tomorrow. Leaving for Tokyo" She said in a calm tone of voice. "That's right" Tate responded. "Why are you leaving?" She asked back. "There's nothing left for me here, and the only woman here I loved, doesn't exactly return the favor. So I'm leaving, going back home to my parents and seeing if I can find my place in the world elsewhere" Tate said, hopefully answering all of the biker's questions. "I see, guess I can't blame you then" Natsuki said back. "I'm leaving next week, I'm going to.." "To Kyoto" Tate said, answering for her. "Why'd you say that?" Natsuki said, asking why Tate would answer her place of destination for her. "Because she's there" Tate said. Both of them knew whom that she was, and they both left it at that. Natsuki knew why she would be going back and, Yuuichi had enough trouble in the terms of relationships, and to listen to someone else go on and on about their's would only make him feel even worse than he did already. Seeing no other reason to stay and keep him awake, Natsuki turned to leave, and picked up her helmet from the ground, before leaving, she looked at him and spoke: "If its any consolation, I was rooting for the both of you too". Her words were touching, but by this point they were only bittersweet. Tate nodded his head and closed the door, walking back towards the recliner and closed his eyes once he heard the familiar sound of her custom Ducati revving up and speeding off somewhere into the night. Soon it would all end, and by the end of the day tomorrow, he'd be asleep in his family home, far far away from here, and even further away from the memories associated with this place, the Island known as Fuuka.

**This is only the first chapter, with the second and final one due out later this week. In closing, I just want to say, read and review and happy new year. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A Far Cry**

** Well here's the second chapter to Over Now. I'm thankful for all the reviews I've gotten so far, and I'm glad to see some people have enjoyed this story despite its content, that content being Tate being the main character. Anyways please read, review and enjoy the fic. I do not own Mai Hime, they are owned and distributed by Sunrise and Bandai**

_No, I think you got me all wrong._

_I don't regret this life I chose for me._

_But these places and these faces are getting old._

_I said these places and these faces are getting old,_

_So I'm going home._

_I'm going home._

_Daughtry - Home_

Morning had come, 8 a.m to be exact. Yuuichi's eyes slowly fluttered open and looked around the empty apartment. His resting place was the same recliner he lay in before his conversation with Natsuki. Natsuki, another person that he'd never see again. He found himself thinking back to their brief conversation the other night after the graduation ceremony. Natsuki was known for her cool and unreadable demeanor at times, but Tate could have sworn he heard a hint of sadness in her voice over his leaving for Tokyo today. While he and Natsuki weren't exactly child hood friends, and he still hadn't forgotten how she clocked him upside his head back on the ferry that brought him to this nightmare in the first place, they were still friends at least. It was why he willingly stayed by her side until she woke up in the hospital that one day. It didn't seem right to just leave her there hurt, and while he did appreciate her telling him to go to Mai and tell her how he felt, he wished it could have ended better. Checking the clock, a good fifteen minutes had since passed. Plenty of time until the ferry came.

Rising up from the recliner, Yuuichi went over his belongings and what all to bring with him and what to stay and find its way into a trash bin when they cleaned out his apartment for any future resident. Once it was done, Yuuichi went to the door and opened it, letting the morning sun shine down on him. It was more than just the beginning of a brand new day, it was the beginning of a new life for him. Away from such painful memories as the Orphans, Mai choosing Mikoto, and his own death. Closing the door for the last time, Yuuichi walked away from the boy's dorm and found himself out on the adjoining sidewalk. He still had a good four hours left until the Ferry arrived, and he thought it would be best to at least find some way to kill some time, but nothing came to him. A sudden gust of wind blew across his face, causing him to look towards the direction of the hills. Memories returned to him, reminding him of what lay in those hills. The Munakata Shrine. Tate knew who was there, and why she was there. He also knew that he hadn't spoken to her in months. Deciding that this would be his last chance to speak to her, probably forever, Tate took two steps forward in the direction of the hills.

~*~

Shiho swept her broom across the stone sidewalk of the temple path. A Shinto maiden's duty is never finished. Still she knew what would be expected of her if this was what she chose to do instead of going to school and interacting with the students down below. Many things had changed for her. She had grown taller, and she had finally decided to change her hair style so that she no longer wore her hair in her trademark tentacle style. He hair was now long and flowing down her back, tied together at the bottom with only a single white ribbon. The one part of her hairstyle that remained the same was her largely exposed forehead. It had been fairly busy the last few days with students coming to the shrine to pray for graduation to come quickly or to make it pleasant or for their friends to one day join them or other various prayers. Once upon a time she too joined in by praying to the temple gods to let her be with Yuuichi, but that behavior soon blossomed into something ugly, something even she grew to detest. It was why she had taken up a refuge in this temple and not gone back down to her fellow classmates. She willingly attacked and indirectly killed people just due to sheer jealousy of how some girl was getting closer to her beloved big brother. Nagi may have goaded her on in acting the way she did, but she was the one who willingly chose to act the way she did. It was a memory that still filled her with disgust. She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing. Looking back, she saw that it was none other than Yuuichi Tate, her once beloved big brother.

Once he had finally caught his breath, the two of them stood there in silence, and it reigned between the two of them, neither of them comfortable given the circumstances. Tate hadn't visited the shrine in some time and Shiho hadn't been forward with him showing up either. Yuuichi's excuse had been burying himself in his studies to hide the pain of knowing that Mai had chosen Mikoto over him, while Shiho had chosen to stay and work at the shrine in an attempt to put the past behind her and hope for the best in terms of redemption, despite knowing that it would be difficult. Thanks to her, Mai, the heroine of the Hime's had lost her beloved little brother. Losing someone like that wasn't an easy thing to get over or to just sweep under the rug. Shiho still hadn't faced Mai over that whole ordeal. The thoughts were finally broken, as was the silence when Tate spoke.

"Its been awhile, Shiho" Yuuichi said. Shiho's response to this was to tighten her grip on her broom and look away. "If you're angry with me I understand. I haven't exactly been around alot lately and I haven't exactly said anything to you like I should have. I know I was bad to you by avoiding you for so long and I know you must be upset at me for..." "THAT'S NOT IT!!!" Shiho yelled, interrupting Yuuichi's speech. "I did terrible things, I hurt so many people by getting jealous of you and Mai. I had no right to attack her, I should have helped her out and all I did was get jealous and attack you. You have no right to be here and talking to me right now. Go be with her, she won't get jealous and attack you for talking to another woman, she's got to be a better woman than me so go be with..." Shiho was the one interrupted this time when she felt Yuuichi wrap his arms around her.

"Shiho, its okay. Mai chose Mikoto, not me. I've been alone all this time on the island, and I should have been up here talking to you and making sure you were okay. But all I could think about was graduating and getting the hell off of this island. But I didn't want to leave without at least saying goodbye to you and making sure you're okay, my beloved little sister" Yuuichi said in a whisper to her.

Tears were welling up in Shiho's eyes. Her big brother must have been going through a hell of his own since the carnival ended. "She chose Mikoto then?" Shiho asked. "Yes she did" Tate responded. Wrapping her arms around him in a tighter embrace, Shiho buried her face in his chest. Her sacrifice, his death, it was all for nothng. All so the girl he had fallen in love with could choose someone else. What he must have gone through had to have paled in comparison to her own pain.

The two friends stood there holding each other for a few minutes longer, just taking in the warmth of the only person the two of them had on the island that they felt they could truly confide in. "So you're leaving aren't you?" Shiho said. "That's right" Yuuichi replied. "Where are you going?" She aksed. "I'm going back home to Tokyo, just start over and try to put this place behind me" Yuuichi said, repeating the same thing he had said to so many people already. "I can understand that" Shiho said. "What about you?" Tate asked. "I'm not one with my education yet, but I haven't decided what to do or where to go. Maybe I'll come to Tokyo too someday, or maybe I'll try to go to another part of Japan and continue to work as a priestess" Shiho said. "I see, well whatever path you choose, I'll be behind you one hundred percent, and besides, you don't need to stay cooped up here forever. The best way to repent is to put it all behind you and move on. So try to get out and have some fun while you can, I'm sure gramps would be more than happy to allow you to go out an have some fun" Tate said with a slight smile. "I'm sure he would, its still going to be kind of dull without you around to help me pick out clothes big brother" Shiho said. "I'm sure you'll be fine, and anyways I have to get going or else I'm going to miss the ferry" Tate said. Giving her one last hug, Tate turned to leave but was stopped when Shiho called out to him one last time. "Big brother wait. I don't know if you'll ever come back to Fuuka or not but, if you do, there will always be a place here at the shrine for you" She said. "I will and thanks Shiho" That was his response, his final response to Shiho before turning and making his way down the long flight of stairs that lead to the bottom of the hillside. Once he was out of earsight, Shiho spoke in a tone of voice that only she could hear. "Thank you big brother, I'll always love you and treasure the time we spent together, and who knows. Maybe I will try again to make the best of my time here" Shiho said as she glanced into the direction of the school.

~*~

Tate descended to the bottom of the stairs as best he could without tripping and breaking his neck. The amount of time he spent talking with Shiho ate up at least an hour, and the amount of time it took him to reach the port on foot meant that he'd have to take a later ferry or worse, wait here another week before another one could be booked, not to mention the loss of all the money he had with him that went into booking the ride back home. No way that was going to happen. Yuuichi would crawl to the dock if he had to. His loose ends were all tied up and there was nothing left to keep him here, Freedom was at last only a boatride away. Finally arriving at the bottom of the stairway, Tate was forced into catching his breath from all the running he had done, hands on his knees and his breath coming out in quick, bursts, all the while hoping that he could regain his brath before it was too late. Upon finally being reaquainted with his breath, Tate stood up and saw the Ferry, slowly moving into port. "Ah shit!" Tate swore at his luck. Seeing no other choice, Tate mad a mad dash for the Ferry, running the risk of exhaustion miles before even reaching the ferry but dammit he would try, no matter what. His efforts were cut off when a motorcycle rider pulled up in front of him.

"Look I don't know who you are but I don't have any time to talk, I have to get" "Oh shut up already I know where you're going" The rider said from underneath the helmet. Tate stopped to look at who it was that spoke to him. His suspicions were confirmed when the rider lifted her visor and revealed the same pair of blue eyes he had come to expect from her. "Kuga?" Tate said."You want a ride?" Natsuki asked.

Soon both teens were well on their way to the port, careening across hillside roads at nearly breakneck speeds. Of all the ways Tate never thought he'd reach the ferry on the back of Natsuki Kuga's custom Ducati motorcycle. He knew who else she'd allow on the back of her bike, but he was never one to think he himself would be on, but maybe this was one lone occasion where the ice queen took pitty on him and decided to leave him with one lone memory of an act of kindness from her.

They had finally arrived at the ferry, and Tate watched as the last person boarded it. They had arrived just in time. Removing the helmet he was forced to wear while riding with Natsuki, Tate turned around, wanting to ask one last question. "Why?" He asked the girl. "Once, I wanted to try and point you into the right direction, but it didn't turn out that way, so I guess I wanted to try and make it up to you while I still had the chance" Natsuki said. That was twice in this past week that Natsuki had surprised Tate, and for that he was again grateful. This caused a slight smile to form across his face. Natsuki returned the gesture. Tate extended his hand to Natsuki and she took it, shaking it in a light grip. "Thanks Natsuki, I'll remember this" Tate said. "I'm glad, and take care Tate" Natsuk responded. Yuuichi then turned to leave when Natsuki's phone went off. Quickly picking it up, she smiled knowing who was on the other end. "Hey, Yeah I'm here. I'm just seeing Tate off. Yeah he's leaving for Tokyo. Oh, you want to speak to him? Ok, you're just in time, hold on" Natsuki said to the other end of her phone. "Hey Tate!" she yelled out. Yuuichi quickly turned around to see Natsuki still seated on her bike with a cellphone out. "Shizuru wants to talk to you" Natsuki called out. Tate quickly looked at the captain of the Ferry who shook his head and gave him a 'go on' gesture and allowed Tate a chance to speak with whomever was on the other line. Hurrying back over to Natsuki's location, Tate took up the cellphone.

"Hello, President Fujino" Tate spoke "You still call me that, even though I'm no longer the president" Shizuru spoke, midly amused by how Yuuichi still called her by her former title. "Its fine, it kind of reminds me of how things were back when we were just normal students and not Hime's, and victims" Shuzuru said in an almost forlorn voice. "Yeah, those were the days. Back when things were normal" Tate said. "So, what are you going to do now that you're no longer among the students or the Hime?" Shizuru asked. "I'm going home, back to Tokyo. I'm going to see if I can get my own life back to normal as well" Tate said. "Yes, I think it is probably for the best to just get away from that place. Some good may have come from it for us, but for the most part it is just a poison place in the end" Shizuru responded. "I can't argue with you there" Yuuichi said. "Well Yuuichi Tate, I wish you the best of luck in finding your place in the world beyond the island of Fuuka. Goodbye, and good luck" Shizuru responded. "Thank you, Shizuru Fujino" Tate said to the former president of Fuuka Gakuen. Handing the cellphone back to Natsuki, Tate finally turned to leave and go back to the Ferry, and finally leave this place. However he was once again stopped by the captain.

"There's someone else here who wants to say goodbye to you" The elderly man said to him. From behind the elderly man, walked one Mikoto Minagi. She had grown in the years since the Carnival had ended, her hair still in the familiar braids he had known her for wearing, and she was no longer wearing the familair whaite top with the blue skirt, rather she was wearing the same orange school jacket and light brown skirt that Mai and anyone else in their age group had worn. Tate couldn't help but silently laugh at the irony of the situation. When the whole Carnival debacle had started off, it was because Mikoto and Natsuki had come on board of the ferry that had brought him to Fuuka. All that was missing was Mai, but he wasn't shedding any tears over her not being here at the moment.

"So, have you come to beat me up for how I talked to Mai the other night?" Tate asked, not surprised if that would be his fate. "No, I'm not here to hurt you, I'm, here to say thank you" Mikoto said. This surprised Yuuichi more than anything. "Mai told me that, in order for us to be together, you had to step aside and risked getting hurt all so she could be happy with me. She talked about how it must have hurt for you to see the one person you love, to not be in love with you at all, and when she explained that to me, I wanted to come and at least thank you for allowing her to be happy with me" Mikoto finished. Yuuichi may have had a hard time noticing things in the past, but he could have sworn that at that very minute, he heard the sound of the young girl threatening to cry. "Did it hurt for you to let Mai go?" Mikoto asked. It was quiet there, no one spoke. All that could be heard was the crashing of the waves. Yet Mikoto listened as best she could, and perked up when she saw Yuuichi's mouth open, to deliver his answer. "Yes. Yes it did" Tate said in response, a response that was barely a whisper. Mikoto looked into Yuuichi's eyes and saw, the pain that his response brought forth, in knowing that he had to make a painful sacrifice so that his beloved could be happy. Deciding that asking him anymore would only cause the pain to spread, Mikoto instead just bowed to him. He was more than just a senior student or a sempai. He was a human being who had made the most painful sacrifice and that deserved respect, more than anything. "Thank you, Yuuichi Tate" Mikoto said, Her final words to him.

Minutes passed until Tate responded to the very same underclassmen who Mai had chosen over him. She could be looked at as the one person he could hold responsible for the pain he had gone through for the past year and a half, but instead he chose a different path. Instead of yelling at or attacking the younger girl, he instead returned the bow, and spoke to her. "You're welcome, Mikoto Minagi" His final words to her.

With that, Tate boarded the Ferry, finally putting the island and all of his experiences there behind him. Arriving at the room he had rented on the ferry, Tate turned the knob and entered. Laying his suitcase down on the floor adjascent to the bed, Tate removed his leather jacket and lay down on the bed and rested, closing his eyes and drifting off, as the Ferry began to lurch forward slowly until it began to pick up steam and move forward back to the mainland, and away from Fuuka island forever.

**I know I said this would be the last chapter but I decided to stretch it out to one last chapter. I'll try to have it up soon, the latest being Monday night. Anyways please read and review**


	3. epilogue

**A Million Miles Away**

**Well, here it is the final chapter to Over Now. Its not much but its what I had originally intended when I set out to write this fic. I know I had planned for it to be finished sooner but I had a convention that needed my full attention, and no that stupid rhyme wasn't intended. Still here's the final chapter. I do not own Mai Hime, it is owned by Sunrise and lisenced by Bandai. **

_**Hey I think that someday I might need you somehow**_

_**I, I think I might have loved you**_

_**These things I said but you were**_

_**A million miles away**_

_**A million miles away**_

_**Fuel, Million Miles**_

In an apartment along an urban boulevard in the west district of Tokyo, a door was being opened. through the door had come the apartment's only resident one Yuuichi Tate. The single resident arrived home after another day of work as the editor and chief for a travel magazine. It paid well and the title of editor and chief had allowed him to be the one to call the shots and give the orders around the office. A far cry from his days of being given orders back in the days of being on the student council at Fuuka academy. The memories of that place had been coming to him much more frequently for the past two years, and that had begun to worry Yuuichi. Memories of talking with Mai while she was crying in the rain, memories of chatting with her younger brother and trying not to worry him about taking his beloved big sister away, and the memory of the day when Mai had come up to him and told him that she had chosen Mikoto over him, and the easy smile he forced himself to wear telling her that it was ok by him. It was a lie, a lie that he was certain she saw through just as well as he did. He honestly didn't like thinking back to those memories again after having done such a good job of finally repressing them, only for them to come flying back at him. Pouring down on him like the tons of gallons of water from a shattered dam.

Hanging up his coat, Yuuichi went to his refrigerator and reached for a bottle of Bacardi Silver. It was a foreign drink he had developed a taste for after celebrating a new year's party with some of his coworkers. One of them had it shipped in from a distributor in Newport over in the U.S. Since then Yuuichi had made it a habit to have a drink of Bacardi Silver once every night when he began his usual ritual of writing in his journal. He had been given a journal as a Christmas gift by his mother saying that his father, her late husband had made it a habit to regularly write in it every night. Yuuichi wasn't fond of that memory coming back to haunt him either. His father had died three years ago due to a stomach ulcer that had gone untreated for far too long. Tate had known just how much of a workahaulic his father was, but he knew that he worked that hard to support his family, but it was the very work he was so dedicated to that killed him. Irony was notoriously cruel like that. A coworker of his father had said that the bank wouldn't be the same without his father around. He always spoke of how he would go on about how proud he was of his son, how he went from an angry trouble maker to an editor to a popular magazine. That alone was enough to bring a smile to Yuuichi's face, as well as knowing that his father was proud and that he went from this world peacefully.

Yuuichi mentally shook the thoughts from his mind and sat about continuing the tradition his father had began by putting the pen to paper and recording his thoughts of the day.

**March 15, 2017.**

**I haven't had any thoughts pertaining back to Fuuka academy and the students I knew there until a few months ago, and that's begun to worry me. **

**The memories I've had pertaining to the students of the Academy are not pleasant ones. Instead my mind is constantly subjected to the painful images of my own death, and my rejection from the woman I had fallen in love with. She had rejected me for another woman, leading me to wonder why I was ressurected, and why I had even fought for her in the first place. They say love makes us all blind to the truth, and I have never seen any more truth to that statement than when I thought I was in love with her.**

**I sometimes think that maybe the good things were only meant to come to everyone else on that island, and not to myself.**

**Shizuru and Natsuki have moved in together, and are living comfortably in Shizuru's native Kyoto. I'm not sure of what else the future has in store for them, for I have no more knowledge of the future than any of those fake psychics on daytime television, however I'm sure the two of them are more than willing to face any challenges that comes their way together. **

**Kazu and Akane have already welcomed their third child into the world, I'm very proud for them, I honestly mean that. **

**Reito graduated from Tokyo University and has since gone on to running a very successful marketing firm. Hopefully his path has gone on to lead him down the road to happiness as well.**

**Despite the good news that has come to some of my friends, not everyone has had such good tidings fall into their laps. Masashi Takeda was found dead in his apartment, a plastic bag wrapped around his head and both of his wrists slashed open. On the mirror of his bedroom written in his own blood were the words "I'm Free" He was twenty seven years old and left what meager possessions he owned to a drinking buddy of his named Hirokazu Tanaka. **

**I'm not sure if the memories of his time on Fuuka academy had gotten to him and were the sole source for driving him to the grave, or if it was some other type of misery he had encountered after he had left the island. No matter the case, may he forever rest in peace.**

**As for me, I'm still the editor in chief of a well known travel magazine, but my own history with Fuuka academy has left me feeling a little differently towards the rest of the world. I try not to look back when I see someone drive past me on a Ducatti motorcycle, I try not to think to much about it when Hiro, the office otaku goes on about a schoolgirl with a big sword, I politely refuse an offer to drink green tea, and I try not to think too much about the images of a dragon and what it once meant to me. **

**I'm not sure of what the dreams and reoccurring memories of Fuuka will add up to in the long run, whether or not it means that somewhere back in the corner of my mind, I should make peace with the people I left behind, or that maybe I made a mistake back then in turning my back on everyone, but I know this. The things I learned, and the memories ingrained within my mind from Fuuka Island. Remain.**

Setting the pen down and closing up the journal for the night, Tate picked up his glass of Baccardi and moved over to the window. Gripping the thin rope that moved the blackout curtains, Yuuichi pulled them aside, blocking out the light from Tokyo's shopping district. It was a habit he had picked up after moving into this apartment. It wasn't meant to block out the light from the stores or the buildings. It was because in that general direction, had one followed it with a telescope or the right kind of equipment, one would have found the island known as Fuuka.

**Now its over. The fic has come to an end and nothing more will be said or typed and posted. I originally got the idea for this fic after watching the final hour of Stephen King's "Storm of the Century" when I saw how the protagonist reacted to his own friends doing something unforgivable to him, I wanted to try and recapture that whole feel in this fic as well, but mine didn't come off anywhere nearly as angry as King's did. Shows that I don't have anywhere near the guts that he did  
**

**The title for the song came from listening to the Alice in Chains song, Over Now, and was intended to be featured as the songs used in the intro portions proceeding the actual story. However other songs found their way into this fic in the intros. Still tell me what you all thought of the story in a review. **


End file.
